Texas A&M University-Kingsville: AKM Digital Repository
Not a member yet
1689 research outputs found
Sort by
The perceptions of seventh grade Texas history students in a South Texas school when exposed to a hispanic dominated historical narrative using critical historical inquiry
No full textDemographic trends in Texas continue to change and diversify the population; however, despite this trend, school districts and state officials continue to maintain a curriculum that is not relevant to this diverse population. Furthermore, studies show that Hispanic students, who represent 45% of the students in Texas public schools, have little opportunity to learn about their culture. This case study examined the perceptions of a seventh grade Texas History class in a rural South Texas school when exposed to a Hispanic dominated narrative. Through a
multicultural lens, the study focused on ethnic and geographical culture and used the strategy of Critical Historical Inquiry to expose students to narratives that were ethnically and regionally relevant to the demographic and location of the school and the participants. Using Critical Historical Inquiry, state standards were expanded on to dive deeper into topics by using relevant primary sources and narratives in the lessons. Lesson topics consisted of ranching and the image of the cowboy, and the Civil War. The following major themes emerged from the study: 1) Engagement and Relevancy, 2) Implications of Prior knowledge, 3) Implications of Primary Sources on Learning and Cultural Identity, and 4) Implications of the lesson format and Critical Historical Inquiry. Additionally, the study found that the strategy of Critical Historical Inquiry enhanced learning and helped students have a better understanding of their cultural identity
Avian ecology in South Texas and its use in conservation education
No full textThe goal of interdisciplinary research is to integrate disciplines using their techniques, data, tools, perspectives, and concepts to improve our knowledge, understanding, or to solve problems existing in a single discipline. As wildlife scientists, we have the wildlife knowledge to execute ecological studies to learn more about our model systems. Conservation education acts as a link between the factual knowledge gathered by scientists and the distribution of that knowledge for the community to understand. I set out to create this link by forming a Student-Teacher-Scientist-Partnership (STSP) to enhance the knowledge and attitudes of students and educators towards birdlife in South Texas through the Wild Bird Conservation Curriculum I developed. I assessed 6th (n=39) and 7th grade (n=52) students’ and formal educators’ (Pre: n=25, Post: n = 15) affinity, perceptions, and attitudes towards wildlife, birds, science, and nature prior to and after the program. Students had a positive affinity towards wildlife and attitude towards working with a scientist. Their attitude towards habitat fragmentation and its effect on wildlife improved as well as their perceived knowledge of birds. Seventh grader perceived ability to identify birds improved, yet 6th grader perceptions remained similar. Perceived knowledge of educators towards bird biology and identification remained negative; however, positive attitudes were observed on all other topics. I also incorporated a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) into a junior level Wildlife Management Techniques course to assess student (n=38) skills and confidence in bird identification and research, study design, and scientific writing. I observed improved perceived confidence in data management, but no improvement in their confidence in writing or setting up their own bird research project, improved their ability to identify bird species by an average of 18%, however no change in their interest in birdlife prior to and after the study. The students and educators I worked with on this project were introduced to bird survey methodology that I utilize in studying bird populations. I investigated the influence of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) on breeding landbird abundance using long-term bird monitoring data collected on the East Foundation’s El Sauz Ranch. Positive relationships between avian abundance and NDVI were not always observed, these relationships depended upon the year (i.e., wet or normal rainfall year) and NDVI levels in the month prior to the peak of the breeding season. My results do not completely support previously supported research and theories, suggesting the climatic fluctuations that occur in South Texas landscapes do not always follow earlier findings in the literature. Integrating the tools, techniques, and concepts used in wildlife science into conservation education aids our ability to disseminate our knowledge as scientists to the community, further gaining their support in our efforts and creating conservation-minded citizens
Traffic signal optimization study for urban arterial intersection in the city of Corpus Christi
No full textTraffic in urban cities has become a burden to countless citizens over the last century due to increased congestion in large cities. This thesis presents a study of improving traffic conditions by optimizing signal control timing in arterial intersections. Will optimizing traffic signal timing and coordination be a solution to improve traffic flow or will redesigning the configuration of intersections need to be considered? This research considers the use of traffic signal timing optimization and simulation to reduce congestion at two of the most congested intersections in Corpus Christi, Texas. There are many solutions that can be considered to improve congestion at these intersections without having to reconstruct the street sections. Signal timing is used as the most cost-effective solution although other methods are studied. Different studies focus on drastic changes to an intersection by adding additional turn lanes, charging to use a road during peak hours, and intersection configurations such as the diverging diamond interchange. A solution that is often overlooked is optimizing the traffic signal timing plan which offers a cost-effective solution. The Highway Capacity Software (HCS+) and PTV Vissim, a traffic simulation software, are used to analyze the intersections and demonstrate that changing the signal timing improves the performance of the intersections. A correlation between shorter cycle lengths and smaller delay times can be observed in this research
Server authentication of images
No full textThere has been tremendous advancement in multimedia in recent time. There are cameras everywhere around us, and the Internet is overwhelmed with all sorts of images. Mostly there are certain claims about the location and contents associated with images. Whenever an image shows up with associated claims on a media platform, there is always a question about the reliability of these claims associated with the image. There are numerous techniques to address these questions about the reliability of these claims. These include localization, signature usage, hide in an image or watermark images in order to prevent, reduce and detect any form of manipulation or modification. These techniques offer a limited level of reliability these images and associated claims, since the images can still be altered. Even a novice can make use of a sophisticated online tool and remove a watermark; a well scripted code can extract and replace a hidden image as well as alter the metadata of the original image. Thus, there is a need for an image authentication framework that can accurately detect any form of tampering or modification in an image.
This research presents a framework to authenticate the image and the claim associated with it. The framework is based on server-client model. The server has the repository of all the authenticated images and associated claims, while the client consists of a web browser plugin. Once an image which is originated from the server is shared over the Internet reaches an Internet surfer, the surfer may want to verify the associated claim of the image. This is where the plugin kicks in. The plugin establishes a connection with the server and communicates the identity of the image already embedded into the image through some steganography technique. The frontend plugin and the server communicate further to authenticate the image and related claim. Primarily the server asks the client to send a random transversal profile of the image. Upon getting the response from the plugin the server takes the correlation of the profile and gets a correlation of the correlation of the same profile of the image from its repository. Once there is a correlation the image is verified, and the associated claims are sent to the plugin which displays the claims to the surfer. The significance of using the correlation is that the correlation depicts the harmonic variations in the image which are greatly preserved even when the resolution of the image has changed. The technique is even effective if the image is cropped. Moreover, the framework is immune to known attacks on the existing authentication techniques
Timing of Northern Bobwhite breeding in a semiarid environment
No full textThe abundance of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is known to be highly correlated with the amount and timing of rainfall in semiarid lands. This strong influence of rainfall results in dramatic population fluctuations which have been referred to as a “boom-andbust” phenomenon. In relatively unpredictable environments such as the Rio Grande Plains ecoregion, northern bobwhites may rely more on local stimuli such as rainfall to time breeding rather than relying solely on photoperiod. The objectives for this study were to 1) experimentally test the breeding response (egg-laying rate, laying date, and nesting-season length) of northern bobwhites to rainfall and vegetation appearance in a captive setting and 2) quantify the reproductive response (percent hens nesting, laying date, nesting rate, and nesting-season length) of northern bobwhite to rainfall and temperature using data from a long-term field study. In both captive and field settings, northern bobwhite hens positively responded to rainfall. Increased April–May rainfall resulted in hens initiating nests earlier in the breeding season (R = -0.72, P = 0.04), and increased July–August rainfall prolonged the nesting season length (R = 0.66, P = 0.07). Late summer rainfall also increased the number of nests per hen (R = 0.64, P = 0.08). Temperature only negatively affected nesting rate (R = -0.74, P = 0.03). Vegetation color appears to have no influence on the timing of egg laying; however, bobwhites may be utilizing this visual cue to adjust breeding efforts late in the summer
Comparative study of noise levels within a remanufacturing industrial plant
No full textThe contribution of noise to workplace and workers health through industrial operations and processes remains a common daily occupational hazard. The state of being free from this hazard can be achieved by effective control to eliminate or reduce the noise level to the lowest possible. This plant is a remanufacturing facility with various industrial operations which includes disassembly, cleaning, inspection, salvage to assembly activities and it is important to evaluate the level of noise exposure and its impact in concerned areas. If the employee encounters a dangerous noise exposure, which may be harmful and cause injuries to the ear or cause loss of hearing, employees will not be able to work effectively, which also will reduce the production rate. This study examines the various noise levels, the effect of noise, safety measures to control noise in a remanufacturing industrial plant.
This investigation was conducted to survey if there is a significant relationship between noise levels and workers vulnerability to noise hazard. Specific aims were to evaluate all areas in the workplaces with noise exposures above and below the occupational exposure limit (OEL) and to determine the noise exposure for workers during a work shift. Noise survey data exposures were gathered from site routine periodic evaluation reports. Of different work areas in the study, 20% had noise exposure levels above established limit and about 0ne-fourth of workers were found to be working in such areas
Real time health monitoring method for tomato leaves
No full textTomatoes are one of the major horticulture crops consumed by majority of the population all over the world and it is very important to develop a real-time health monitoring of these crops for early detection of the diseases to minimize the risk of economic losses as well as an epidemic. In this thesis, we investigated image processing algorithms to monitor the health of the leaves whether tomatoes have diseases or not, categorizing them healthy or unhealthy leaves. Three different approaches were into considerations namely; Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), Color histogram and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) Texture features and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Images obtained from full color imaging sensors are utilized to train and test the algorithms. The algorithms are developed and executed by using MATLAB programming. The performance of three different approaches are compared and the simulations results indicated that GLCM algorithm outperforms the other approaches. We show that GLCM algorithm could be used as a real-time algorithm to monitor the health of the tomato crops and the approach could be extended and used for monitoring the health of the other crops in agriculture
Collision avoidance system for UAVs
No full textIn today’s world, Drones especially Quadcopters have become a very common part of our lives. From being used as a toy to a delivery channel for medicines Quadcopters are being used in every business imaginable. For these Quadcopters to be able to fly safely and co-exist with other objects, they have to have an inbuilt collision avoidance system which can help them navigate the ever changing skyline of our world. Although many collision avoidance systems have been designed, achieving collision avoidance with zero chance of accident is still a challenging topic. A thorough study on existing collision avoidance systems is carried out and a way to integrate these systems on to a Quadcopter is being researched upo
Effects of increasing flow baffles on dead zone and growth performance of microalgae in a raceway photobioreactor
No full textThere are challenges in using raceway photobioreactor (RWP) for microalgae-biomass production due to its poor mixing and dead zones (DZ), which are areas with velocity of less than 0.1 m/s, leading to low biomass productivity as compared with the closed system photobioreactors (PBR). RWP is less expensive to build and operate as compared to the PBR, and directly take advantage of the available sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Thus, there have been different research to improve its velocity, mixing and biomass productivity. This research work was focused on the flow optimization using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), COMSOL Multiphysics, to reduce DZ and improve productivity of the reactor. The effects of variable number of flow baffles, central wall thickness (Tw), first channel diameter (Rin) and ratio of Rin to Tw on the percentage of DZ werestudied. The result showed that compared to control RWP (RWP with no baffles), DZ in the RWP with modified four baffles was decreased by 96%. Experimental results in a pilot –scale 200L RWP showed 50% and 40% increase in the productivity and specific growth rate of the microalgae respectively in RWP with three flow baffles as compared with the control RWP
Reuse of natural zeolite for adsorption of ammonia and adsorption of phosphate on a modified natural zeolite
No full textWhen large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients are discharged in water, the number of algae increases causing algal bloom which imbalances aquatic ecosystem and affects the aquatic life and human beings. Recovery of ammonia-nitrogen and phosphorus is important because they can be reused as nutrient fertilizers to help improve food quality and plant growth. Natural zeolites have been used for adsorption and regeneration of ammonia from wastewater. The first objective of this research is to determine the performance of regenerated natural zeolite for the recovery of ammonia from wastewater as struvite fertilizer. As for the second objective of the research, manganese oxide and calcium oxide modified zeolites are used to determine the optimum parameters for phosphate adsorption. Calcium oxide modified zeolite can remove about 98% of phosphate from the phosphate contaminated solution. The Freundlich isotherm model proved to be a best fit for adsorption equilibrium. Calcium oxide modified zeolites can adsorb more amount of phosphate efficiently in comparison to the manganese oxide modification. The result from this research is beneficial to the wastewater treatment plants as the reuse of zeolite helps in waste reduction, and recovered ammonia and phosphate can be used as nutrient for struvite, which is a chemical fertilizer